What Is Home Staging And How Does It Help To Sell My House

Home staging is the concept of preparing a house for sale. This can involve everything from removing clutter, re-arranging furniture and in some cases re-decoration, ensuring that the house creates a great first impression and helps buyer's to feel that they could really live there.

Although the concept of home staging is not new, it has certainly taken off during the last few years, fuelled by the booming property market and popular television shows, such as Channel 4's House Doctor.

Why use a professional home stager?

It is very difficult for people not to add their personal touch to their homes whilst living in them. However too much personalisation can often put buyers off a property.

One person's favourite flowery wallpaper may not appeal to everyone, whilst tatty furniture or poorly maintained gardens may betray the true value of the home.

First impressions matter

A home stager will be able to take an objective look at your home, as if they were the buyer and spot areas of weakness that could cost you the sale or lead you to reduce your asking price.

Whilst an estate agent will often provide advice on improving a property for sale, the home stager will take this a stage further and actually implement the improvements.

Preparing the property for sale can be considered by many as an unnecessary expense, but it should be seen as an investment that allows the owner to sell their property quickly, whilst maximising the potential value.

Things to think about when selling your home

If you want to do your own home staging, you should be looking at the following aspects:

Remove clutter

Often rooms become overcrowded with clutter. Buyers will be looking for rooms that appear spacious and airy, so if you have to many possessions, you may wish to put some of them into storage, leaving just enough to give the room a comfortable, lived-in feel.

Re-arrange furniture

Too much furniture can also make a room appear small and cramped. Again, it is worth putting some furniture into storage until you have moved. Try to arrange your remaining furniture at angles, rather than just lining it up against the walls and if there are focal points such as fireplaces, try to use your furniture to enhance these.

Appropriate use of rooms

Ensure that different rooms in the house can be distinguished for different activities. Make sure that the dining room is actually a dining room, not the kid's playroom and think about taking all of the junk out of the spare room, so that it can be presented as a home office.

Lighting

Good lighting can also make a room seem bright and airy. Always try to allow as much natural light into your home as possible. If necessary clean the windows and cut back any trees or bushes that are obstructing daylight. Make use of table lamps to brighten areas of the house that do not receive as much natural light.

Clean and tidy

Always ensure that the house is spotless before viewings. Nothing will put buyers of more than a house that appears dirty and uncared for. It is always a good idea to have the carpets cleaned professionally and you may want to do the same with older furniture, especially the three-piece suite.

Tidy up the garden

Often the garden will be the first impression that the buyer has of the property before they even get to see the house, so it is important that you apply the same clean, tidy and uncluttered principles.

Don Suter is Managing Editor of the UK Property Portal (http://www.ukpropertyportal.co.uk), an online directory and magazine for UK property sales, rental, surveyors, mortgages, conveyancing, property insurance, removals, news, investment and development

More information on selling your home

Find out more with our Selling Your Home guide and Property Sales pages.

---

How To Go About Selling Your Home On Your Own

In days of booming real estate, you would think that... Read More

Lock In Big Profits By Offering Rent To Own Deals

Why would anyone accept a lease option, rent to own... Read More

Look Past the Bottom Line for a Propertys Potential

It's unfortunate that many real estate investors tend to look... Read More

The Real Estate Market In Spain: Making Profits Out Of Sand

The Real estate market in Spain keeps gaining momentum and... Read More

Buy to Let Property Investment

In recent years buy to let has been a popular... Read More

The Listing Contract: Its All in the Details

Now that you've chosen a real estate professional to sell... Read More

Avoiding A Bad Investment Is Easier Than You Might Think

Human nature being what it is, none of us can... Read More

Tax Assessment/Appraisal: How Do I Know What My Home is Worth?

If you are in the home buying or selling market,... Read More

Fraud in Real Estate, Are You Being Victimized? - Part II

The phone range and Peter was on the other end... Read More

Why Not To Invest In Bulgarian Property

According to research carried out by the Thomson Group, owning... Read More

Rehab Foreclosed Houses the Right Way and Keep All the Profits!

I've been teaching people how to buy foreclosure properties for... Read More

Real Estate Investing Is A Better Gamble Than The Lottery

Real estate investing begins when you move to the starting... Read More

Is It Wise to Take My Home Off the Market for the Holidays?

Let's say you've had your home on the market for... Read More

To Buy or Not to Buy

Purchasing a home is a major emotional and financial decision.... Read More

Rehab Your Way to Wealth: The Quick Way to Fixer-Upper Success

Completely rebuilding a house is not necessary to make money... Read More

Estate Planning

Estate planning can enable you to control your property while... Read More

Dont Overpay for a House, Even in Todays Market

If there's one thing American investors love, it's an over-inflated... Read More

10 Ways To Find Investment Properties

If you really want the best deals in investment properties,... Read More

11 Different Ways to Participate in The New Millennium Real State Boom

Many parts of the country are going through a real... Read More

How to Use Color Psychology to Prepare Your Home for a Top-Dollar Sale (Part 1)

You've decided to prepare your home for sale. Whether you... Read More

Selling Your Home ? What Can Go Wrong With Title and Lenders

If you're selling your home, there are going to be... Read More

The Listing Agents Role in Selling Your California Home

Advertising to the "Public"Every home seller likes to be assured... Read More

Talk to a Lender Before You Sell Your Home

If you're looking to sell your home quickly, and for... Read More

Buying a Newly-Built Home? Ten Benefits of Using a Real Estate Professional

It might not seem necessary to involve a real estate... Read More

How to Negotiate a Successful Short Sale

Anyone who has ever profited from doing a short sale... Read More

Title Insurance ? Examples of Problems and Advice

What is title insurance and why should any buyer get... Read More

Maltas Market Battle

With new destinations such as Bulgaria, Slovenia and Croatia offering... Read More

Where To Start In Looking For A Central Illinois Realtor

Central Illinois is an excellent location for families and businesses.... Read More

FSBO - How to Prepare Your House to Sell

Did you hear that? Prices of houses in Phoenix have... Read More

Are Condo Hotels What the Orlando Real Estate Investor Has Been Looking For?

Earlier this year the Hawthorn suites in Lake Buena Vista... Read More

Jacksonville Real Estate Listings

With over 30,000 residents, Jacksonville in central Arkansas is a... Read More

Building A Home? Want To Ask A Builder The Right Questions - Not The Dumb Ones!

These are real builder questions that I got from readers... Read More

Commercial Real Estate Industry - Is the Condo Craze Over, or Just Gaining Steam

Over the last two years there has been so much... Read More